Sorrow follows school closing in ButtePosted at 4:00 p.m. January 18

Maria Porchervina's entire family cried when they learned in the
winter of 2000 that her daughters' Longfellow Elementary was
closing.

Today they still don't like driving past the empty Longfellow
building, but Porchervina's daughters are thriving at their new
schools, and they've put the closure behind them.

"Unfortunately life doesn't always stay the same, but you do get
through it," she said.

With Greeley Elementary students and parents now facing closure
and transfers to other schools, Porchervina and other former
Longfellow parents said they want to assure them it's not as bad as
they fear. And their best advice is to be as positive as
possible.

Yes, it's awful to see your school close, they said this week.
And yes, you do lose touch with friends as

children are sent to other schools. But new friends are to be
made, new buildings to explore and new teachers and principals
there to ease the transition.

Susan Yelenich was head of the Longfellow Home School
Association and rallied parents and teachers in the battle to keep
the school open, wearing Longfellow shirts and waving signs at
board meetings. She feared moving from a small, close-knit school
to the much larger West would be a disaster, and daughter Meagan
also worried.

"I think a lot of my anxiety rubbed off on Meagan that summer,"
Yelenich said. "But once she started she loved it at West."

"It's been a great experience for us. Meagan is actually sad
about leaving West next year for junior high," she said. "I never
thought it would be that easy."

Lyn Stordahl said parents are key to making the move pleasant
for their children.

Her son struggled at first with the change, but now enjoys new
friends at Margaret Leary Elementary, where Stordahl also works as
a playground monitor.

"The kids took it really hard, so we parents had to be positive
for them," she said. "And it's hard for parents, too, because
you're used to your PTO members and the teachers you know. But now
Nick loves it here."

Porchervina said the last days at Longfellow were bittersweet,
especially the ceremony for the last graduating sixth-grade class,
which included daughter Ashley.

"They really talked about it being the last of the best, which
made it very, very special for the kids," she said.

But after the tears, the family moved on.

Younger daughter Arika transferred to West Elementary while
Ashley went on to East Middle School. Arika likes the extras at
West, formerly a junior high, such as a separate art class and more
hot lunch options. The family has met great new friends, families
and teachers at both schools. Porchervina said Greeley parents
should know it gets easier.

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"It all works out in the end," she said. "Sure we miss
Longfellow. But it's been great at West, too."

Peggy Huber's children had a tougher time, struggling for most
of the first year through the "gruesome" adjustment, she said.

They're doing fine three years later, but Huber said parents
have to aware it can be tough for kids to lose familiar friends,
teachers and a school building all at once.

Many of her son Johner's friends transferred to other schools,
"so it was like moving to a whole different town for him," Huber
said.

Still, the teachers and now-deceased Principal Bob Heard at
Emerson Elementary were always ready to respond to her children's
needs.

When Huber saw her son pacing and friendless on the playground,
Heard instituted the buddy program, pairing Longfellow and Emerson
students together for recess and lunch. When Johner missed a few
days of school, his teacher even visited their home to make sure he
knew he was missed. And about a month into the year when her
daughter Becky Jo didn't want to go to class, Heard personally met
the second-grader at his office each day and walked her,
hand-in-hand, to the room.

It can get better, but Huber urged Greeley parents whose
children face similar struggles to speak with teachers and
principals immediately, adding a transfer is particularly tough for
shy students.

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